Image forming device and image forming method

ABSTRACT

The present invention is intended to provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming method which are high in user-friendliness and entertainment and enhanced in convenience in viewing broadcast programs. Through a modem ( 40 ), program guide data are obtained from a server arranged on the Internet, the obtained program guide data are stored in an EPG memory, and viewing log data for a selected broadcast program are stored in a viewing log memory ( 35 ). On the basis of the viewing log data and the program attribute of the program guide data, the viewing period of time for each program attribute is summarized and, on the basis of the summarized data, each character image formed by the image data stored in a character data memory is altered in accordance with user&#39;s liking in viewing broadcast programs.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an imageforming method which are intended to create character images fromprepared image data and displaying the formed character images, forexample.

BACKGROUND ART

For example, in analog ground-wave television broadcasting, characterinformation and still-picture information are superimposed on the VBI(Vertical Blanking Interval) of a television broadcast signal topractice so-called teletext broadcasting for providing various kinds ofcharacter information and still-picture information in addition to videoand audio data of broadcast programs.

In the digital satellite broadcasting based on BS (BroadcastingSatellite) and CS (Communication Satellite), EPG (Electronic ProgramGuide) data and various control data are provided in a superimposedmanner in addition to video and audio data which constitute broadcastprograms.

With television receiving sets and receivers having capacities ofreceiving analog ground-wave television broadcast and digital satellitebroadcast, character broadcast information can be extracted from areceived broadcast signal for display and EPG data can be extracted toform an EPG which is displayed for use in program selection.

Also, with television receiving sets and receivers for receivingbroadcast signals, a guidance is displayed at the time of changing oradjusting various settings by displaying the channel number of abroadcast channel tuned in from another broadcast channel and displayinga volume level in a volume level bar at the time of volume adjustment,current time display is executed on the basis of the built-in clockcircuit.

Meanwhile, television receiving sets and receivers having capabilitiesof receiving broadcast signals adapted to enhance ease of operation andconvenience by providing users with various kinds of informationconveyed by broadcast signals and executing various kinds of guidancedisplays as described above are high in home use and therefore play acentral role among various audio visual equipment units.

Consequently, it is expected for the television receiving sets andreceivers not only to realize the capabilities of providing users withthe information provided from the outside and the capabilities ofdisplaying guidance for example to enhance ease of operation andconvenience in viewing but also to enhance user friendliness andentertainment.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an imageforming apparatus and an image forming method for realizing theenhancement in user-friendliness, entertainment, and convenience inviewing broadcast programs.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

In carrying out the invention and according to one aspect thereof, thereis provided an image forming apparatus of invention (1) including:obtaining means for obtaining program guide data including at leastattribute information of each broadcast program; use log forming meansfor forming, by identifying each broadcast program adapted to be viewed,use log information for the identified each broadcast program; characterimage forming means for forming a character image to be displayed by useof image data for forming a character image; viewing log summary tableforming means for forming a viewing log summary table obtained byrelating the use log information formed at least by the use log formingmeans to the attribute information included in the program guide dataobtained by the obtaining means; and character image altering means foraltering the character image formed in advance, on the basis of theviewing log summary table.

According to the above-mentioned image forming apparatus of invention(1), the program guide data are obtained by the obtaining means, abroadcast program adapted to be viewed is identified by the use logforming means, and the use log information for each identified broadcastprogram is formed. Next, the image data for forming character images areused by the character image forming means to form character images.

Then, the character image altering means alters the character imageformed before by the viewing log summary table for creating the viewinglog summary table relating use log information with the attributeinformation of broadcast program and on the basis of this viewing logsummary table. The character image thus created is displayed alone ortogether with the video of each selected broadcast program, for example.

Consequently, rather than displaying only the video of each broadcastprogram provided by a broadcast signal, character images are formed onthe side of the image forming apparatus on its own to display both videoand character images. The present invention realizes an image formingapparatus which has a broadcast signal receiving capability and is highin user-friendliness and entertainment and enhanced in convenience inviewing broadcast programs by informing the user of his linking inviewing for broadcast programs.

An image forming apparatus of invention (2) is the image formingapparatus according to invention (1), wherein the obtaining meansconnects a communication line with a server arranged on a communicationnetwork and obtains the program guide data from the server.

According to the image forming apparatus of invention (2), program guidedata are obtained from a server arranged on a communication network suchas the Internet for example. This configuration allows to get theprogram guide data about broadcast programs provided in variousbroadcasting modes with reliability and ease without being depending onthe broadcasting modes.

An image forming apparatus of invention (3) is the image formingapparatus according to invention (1), wherein the obtaining meansobtains the program guide data which are superimposed on a receivedbroadcast signal.

According to the image forming apparatus of invention (3), program guidedata are provided as superimposed on a free area of vertical blankingline (VBL) in the case of analog ground-wave television broadcasting orpacketized in the case of digital satellite broadcasting for example tobe multiplexed with the video data and audio data of each broadcastprogram before being provided.

The program guide data thus provided are obtained by the obtaining meansof the broadcast signal receiving side. Consequently, the grogram guidedata can be obtained from the received broadcast signal for using theobtained program guide data.

An image forming apparatus of invention (4) is the image formingapparatus of invention (1), wherein the viewing log summary table isupdated in a predetermined time interval and the character imagealtering means alters the character image formed in advance, inaccordance with the update of the viewing log summary table.

An image forming apparatus of invention (5) is the image formingapparatus of invention (1), further including: image data obtainingmeans for obtaining image data from a server holding image data forforming various character images arranged on a communication network byconnecting a communication line with the server.

According to the image forming apparatus of invention (5), the imagedata for forming character images can be obtained from a server arrangedon a communication network through the image data obtaining means.

Consequently, because the image data for forming new character imagescan be obtained from a server on a communication network, the user canuse new character images, thereby preventing banality from occurringfrom the continuous use of same, old character images.

An image forming apparatus of invention (6) is the image formingapparatus of invention (1), wherein the broadcast signal is multiplexedwith image data for forming a character image as required; the imageforming apparatus further including: image data extracting means forextracting the image data from the broadcast signal to make theextracted image data usable.

According to the image forming apparatus of invention (6), the imagedata for forming character images are provided as superimposed on a freearea of vertical blanking line (VBL) in the case of analog ground-wavetelevision broadcasting or packetized in the case of digital satellitebroadcasting for example to be multiplexed with the video data and audiodata of each broadcast program before being provided.

The image data thus provided are extracted through the image dataextracting means of the broadcast signal selectively receiving side.Consequently, the image data for forming character images are extractedfrom each received broadcast signal and the extracted image data areused.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a television receiving set 1practiced as one embodiment of an image forming apparatus and an imageforming method according to the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate the forming and displaying of a characterimage which are executed on the television receiving set 1 shown in FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of thetelevision receiving set 1 shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary format of program guide data which aredownloaded by the television receiving set 1 shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 illustrates program attributes of the program guide data shown inFIG. 4.

FIG. 6 illustrates a viewing log summary table which is formed in thetelevision receiving set 1 shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 illustrates image data which are stored in a character datamemory of the television receiving set 1 shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart describing the processing of character imageforming and displaying which is executed in the television receiving set1 shown in FIG. 3.

FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C illustrate specific examples of the processing ofcharacter image forming and displaying which is executed in thetelevision receiving set 1 shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of routesthrough which necessary data such as program guide data are obtained.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The following describes an image forming apparatus and an image formingmethod practiced as one embodiment of the invention with reference tothe accompanying drawings. In the following embodiments, the imageforming apparatus and the image forming method according to theinvention are applied to a television receiving set.

[Main Functions of Television Receiving Set 1]

Now, referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a diagram for describing themain functions of a television receiving set practiced as one embodimentof the invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a television receiving set 1 ofthis embodiment is connected to a antenna 11 installed outdoors forexample for receiving analog ground-wave television broadcast signalsand a parabola antenna 21 for receiving digital satellite broadcastsignals, thus being capable of using both analog ground-wave televisionbroadcasting and digital satellite broadcasting.

It should be noted that, in analog ground-wave television broadcasting,the video and audio signals of a plurality of broadcast programs cannotbe simultaneously transmitted through only one broadcasting channel(transmission path), so that the video and audio signals of onebroadcast program are always transmitted at a time. Therefore, onlyselecting a broadcasting channel allows the viewing of a desiredbroadcast program.

On the contrary, in digital satellite broadcasting, the video and audiodata of a plurality of broadcast programs are encoded for datacompression, the compressed data are packetized, the packets aremultiplexed for transmission through one broadcasting channel(transmission path). Therefore, rather than only selecting abroadcasting channel, broadcasting channel selection and the selectionof a desired broadcast program from among a plurality of broadcastprograms received through the selected channel must be performed at thesame time for the viewing of the desired broadcast program.

The television receiving set 1 of the present embodiment has a modemthrough which it is connected to the Internet 2 to send and receiveelectronic mail and access various servers arranged on the Internet 2for browsing desired Web pages and downloading desired data viatelephone line L. Namely, the television receiving set 1 has Internetconnection capabilities.

By use of its Internet connection capabilities, the television receivingset 1 accesses a predetermined server 3 which provides program guidedata in a predetermined timed relation to download program guide datastored in a hard disk 4 of the server 3, capture the downloaded programguide data, and use them.

The program guide data have contents which are generally similar toelectronic program guide data (EPG data) adapted to be provided bydigital satellite broadcasting; for example, the program guide data haveinformation such as broadcasting station, broadcasting date,broadcasting time, program name, detail contents of program, performer,attribute (program genre) for example, which will be detailed.

In the television receiving set 1 in which the program guide data asdescribed above have been captured, a program guide is formed from thecaptured program guide data and the formed program guide is presented onits display for the user to check desired broadcast programs and selecta desired broadcast program from the displayed electronic program guide.

In the present embodiment, the hard disk 4 of the server 3 stores theprogram guide data of television broadcast programs provided by analogground-wave television broadcasting and the program guide data ofbroadcast programs provided by digital satellite broadcasting. Theserver 3 can provide both the program guide data to the televisionreceiving set 1 to which it is connected.

It should be noted that the television receiving set 1 of the presentembodiment can capture the electronic program guide provided asmultiplexed with digital satellite broadcast and use the captured data.However, the television receiving set 1 can also get the program guidedata about broadcast programs provided by digital satellite broadcastingand use these program guide data.

In order for the mixture of the electronic program guide data providedby digital satellite broadcasting and the program guide data suppliedfrom servers not to cause troubles, the television receiving set 1 ofthe present embodiment is adapted to allow the user to set beforehandthe use of either the electronic program guide data provided by digitalsatellite broadcasting or the program guide data supplied from servers,for example.

Obviously, both the electronic program guide data provided by digitalsatellite broadcasting and the program guide data supplied from serversmay be used at the same time, thereby allowing the user to get programguide data from either source. In this case, if there are program guidedata for a predetermined interval of time in the television receivingset 1 for example, it does not extract or download program guide dataextraction; if most recent program guide data have been provided, thetelevision receiving set 1 executes control for getting them.

Next, the television receiving set 1 of the present embodiment gets,from the program guide data, program attributes of each broadcastprogram that has been actually selected for viewing, forms a viewing loginformation so that broadcast programs of which program attribute havebeen viewed for how long can be understood, and stores the formedviewing log information, thereby allowing the understanding of theviewing of broadcast programs of which attribute for how long.

Further, an important feature of the television receiving set 1 of thepresent embodiment is the capabilities of forming and displayingso-called character images based on peoples, animals, plants, and so onand altering the formed character images on the basis of the likings ofthe user of the television receiving set 1 to broadcast programs whichcan be understood from the viewing log information.

Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, there are illustrated the functions ofdisplaying a character image and altering this character image. Thetelevision receiving set 1 of the present embodiment has the image datafrom which to form character images. When no viewing log has beenaccumulated yet just after the purchase of the television receiving set1 for example, the image data for forming basic character images areused to form basic character image 1C and the formed image is displayedas shown in FIG. 2A for example.

Subsequently, when a broadcast program is viewed through the televisionreceiving set 1 and, if the viewed broadcast program is a baseball livecoverage for example and this broadcast program has been viewed for morethan a predetermined period of time, then, on the basis of the viewinglog information in this case, basic character image 1C is altered, byuse of part image data for transforming the basic character image, to acharacter image 1C1 with a baseball cap and a bat as shown in FIG. 2B.

Namely, in this example, on the basis of the viewing log informationthat a broadcast program of which attribute is baseball has been viewedfor more than a predetermined period of time, the character image isaltered to a baseball fan character image and this altered image isdisplayed.

As described above, the television receiving set 1 of the presentembodiment can uniquely form character images by itself and, byobtaining the liking in viewing for broadcast programs of the user ofthe television receiving set 1 from the viewing log information, alterthe character image in accordance with that liking in viewing,displaying the altered character image.

Consequently, separately from the images of broadcast programs providedby broadcasting, the television receiving set 1 can uniquely form anddisplay character images which can be altered, thereby resulting in atelevision receiving set which is enhanced in user-friendliness andentertainment as well as convenience in viewing that user's liking inviewing for broadcast programs can be understood by means of characterimages.

It should be noted that, in the character image display examples shownin FIGS. 2A and 2B, FIG. 2A shows an example in which the televisionreceiving set 1 is put in a mode for making confirmation of a characterimage for example, thereby showing the case in which character image 1Cis displayed all over the display screen of the display unit of thetelevision receiving set 1.

Also, in the character image display examples shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B,FIG. 2B shows an example of an image at the time of viewing a normalbroadcast program in which the screen is divided into a broadcastprogram image display area and a character image display area. Thedisplaying of the character images shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B areillustrative only; therefore, character images may be displayed invarious other manners.

Character images may be displayed as still images or moving images whichmoves in various manners. In addition, in accordance with userinstructions, the displaying of character images can be turned on/off;when the displaying is turned off with a character image being as shownin FIG. 2B, the broadcast program image is displayed all over the screenof the display unit.

[Exemplary Configuration of the Television Receiving Set 1]

The following describes an exemplary configuration of the televisionreceiving set 1 of the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 3, there isshown in block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of thetelevision receiving set 1 of the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, the television receiving set 1 of the presentembodiment includes a UHF/VHF tuner 12 connected to the antenna 11 andan audio/video separator 13 (a separator in FIG. 3) and has an analogsignal processing line for processing analog ground-wave televisionsignals and a digital signal processing line for processing digitalsatellite broadcast signals which is composed of a BS/CS tuner 22connected to the parabola antenna 21, descrambler 23, a demultiplexer24, and an audio/video decoder 25.

Arranged after these analog signal processing line and digital signalprocessing line are a selector 14 for selecting a signal from amongthose supplied from these lines to be outputted, a video combiner (acombiner in FIG. 3) 15, a character creator 16, a video signal processor17, a display 18, an audio signal processor 19, and a speaker 20.

The television receiving set 1 has a controller 30 having amicrocomputer configuration based on a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 31,a ROM (Read Only Memory) 32, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 33 areinterconnected through a CPU bus 39 as shown in FIG. 3. The controller30 controls the component circuits of the television receiving set 1.

The ROM 32 stores various processing programs to be executed in thetelevision receiving set 1 and the data necessary for the processing.The RAM 33 is used for a so-called work area in which intermediateresults of each processing are temporarily stored for example.

The CPU bus 39 is connected to an EPG memory 34 for storing programguide data, a viewing log memory 35 for storing viewing log data, and acharacter data memory 36 for storing image data for forming characterimages. Each of these memories, the EPG memory 34, the viewing logmemory 35, and the character data memory 36, is a so-called non-volatilememory which retains data stored therein after the power is turned off.

The CPU bus 39 is also connected to a clock circuit 37, a remotecommander signal photo receptor 38, and a modem 40. The clock circuit 37supplies current date, current day of week, and current time informationand has a counter capability of counting time. The remote commandersignal photo receptor 38 receives infrared remote commander signalsissued in accordance with user input operations from a remote commander50 which is a remote control device, and supplies the received signalsinto electrical signals, supplying them to the CPU 31.

The modem (modulator/demodulator) 40 provides connection between thetelevision receiving set 1 and a communication network, thereby allowingdata transfer between the television receiving set 1 and servers forexample on a communication network.

In the present embodiment, the modem 40 is connected to a telephone lineended with a modular jack ML which is drawn from a telephone network Las shown in FIG. 3. Consequently, as described with reference to FIG. 1,the television receiving set 1 can perform the transfer of electronicmail and the browsing of Web pages via the telephone network L and theInternet 2.

[Program Guide Data (EPG Data) and their Acquisition]

As described with reference to FIG. 1, the television receiving set 1 ofthe present embodiment accesses the server 3 on the Internet 2 once aday for example at a predetermined time or when the user issues acommand to access, downloads the most recent program guide data, andrecords the downloaded program guide data to the EPG memory 34 throughthe controller 30.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary format of the program guide data whichare downloaded from the predetermined server 3 and recorded to the EPGmemory 34. As shown in FIG. 4, the program guide data to be provided bythe server 3 in the present embodiment are configured by the informationindicative of broadcasting station, broadcasting date, broadcastingtime, program name, details of program contents, performers, and programattributes for example for each broadcast program.

The above-mentioned broadcasting station is indicative of theinformation such as an identifier or an identification name foridentifying a broadcasting station which broadcast that broadcastprogram, thereby identifying a transmission channel (a broadcastingchannel) for providing that broadcast program. The broadcasting date isindicative of a date on which that broadcast program is broadcast, in atotal of six digits, namely, two digits of Christian year, two digits ofmonth, and two digits of day. The broadcasting time is indicative of thestart time and end time of that broadcast program in units of minutes orseconds of 24-hour system. It should be noted that the indication of thebroadcasting date is not restricted to that mentioned above; forexample, month may be represented in “09”, “SEP”, or others.

The program name is indicative of the title of that broadcast programand has an identifier for identifying that broadcast program. Thedetails of contents is indicative of the information in which thecontents of that broadcast program are represented in letters (text).The performer is indicative of the main performer or performers of thatbroadcast program. The program attribute located at the right end of theformat shown in FIG. 4 is indicative of the information representing thegenre of that broadcast program which is given in accordance with apredetermined genre classification.

FIG. 5 illustrates predetermined program attributes, indicating parts ofvarious program attributes. As shown in FIG. 5, the program attributesallow the understanding of not only major classifications of sport,variety, and drama, but also minor classifications.

The program attributes used in the present embodiment allow, if thatprogram belongs to sports category, the understanding of a particularsport, baseball, succor, or golf, and if that program belongs to varietycategory, the understanding of a particular variety, talk, quiz,information, cooking, or travel as shown in FIG. 5 for example. Namely,both the major classification and the minor classification are used toidentify the attributes of each broadcast program to allow the user tounderstand the type of each broadcast program.

The program guide data having the format shown in FIG. 4 including theprogram attributes which can be classified by both the above-mentionedmajor and minor classifications shown in FIG. 5 are obtained from thepredetermined server 3 through the Internet 2, the telephone line L, andthe modem 40 to be stored in the EPG memory 34 through the controller30.

Next, as described above, the television receiving set 1 of the presentembodiment gets program guide data in a predetermined timed relation,forms the display data for forming and displaying a program guide fromthe obtained program guide data, and supplies the display data to thevideo signal processor 17 to form a display signal, thereby displayingthe program guide onto the display screen of the display 18.

The program guide shown on the display screen of the display 18 allowsthe user to understand the broadcasting channel, broadcasting time,details of contents, and performer of a desired broadcast program and,by selecting a desired broadcast program, view that broadcast program.

[Viewing Log Data and their Storage]

When the power to the television receiving set 1 of the presentembodiment is turned on and a broadcast program provided by analogground-wave television broadcasting is viewed or a broadcast programprovided by digital satellite broadcasting is viewed, view loginformation is formed and the formed view log information is stored andheld in the viewing log memory 35.

The following describes the processing to be executed in the televisionreceiving set 1 from turning on the power to the television receivingset 1 to forming and storing viewing log information to reproduce abroadcast program for viewing.

It should be noted that, for the brevity of description, it is assumedthat the television receiving set 1 of the present embodiment store theinformation for identifying a broadcasting channel selected immediatelybefore the power is turned off and, when the power is turned on again,automatically select the broadcasting channel selected immediatelybefore the power was last turned off; namely, it is assumed that thetelevision receiving set 1 have a so-called last channel memorycapability.

When the television receiving set 1 is powered on, the controller 30reads the last channel data from a non-volatile memory such as anEEPROM, not shown, in which the last channel data are stored. Next, ifthe read last channel data are indicative that an analog ground-wavetelevision broadcast was selected, the controller 30 switches theselector 14 so that the video/audio signals from the audio/videoseparator 13 are outputted.

On the basis of the read last channel data, the controller 30 forms astation select control signal for selecting a desired analog ground-wavebroadcast signal and supplies the formed signal to the UHF/VHF tuner 12.

At this moment, the controller 30 forms the information indicative ofthe broadcasting channel (the broadcasting station) selected by theUHF/VHF tuner 12, the information for identifying the broadcast programbeing broadcast by that broadcasting channel, this broadcast programbeing extracted from the program guide data, and the viewing loginformation composed of the program attribute and broadcasting date ofthat broadcast program and the use start time obtained from the clockcircuit 37 and stores and holds the these pieces of information in theviewing log memory 35.

Subsequently, while the power is on, the controller 30 identifies fromthe program guide data the broadcast program currently provided by thebroadcast signal selected by the UHF/VHF tuner 12 at the current timeindicated by the clock circuit 37 and determines whether the viewedbroadcast program has ended.

If the viewed program is found ended in this decision process, then thetime at that moment is obtained from the 37, the use end time of thecorresponding viewing log data held in the viewing log memory 35 isupdated, the viewing log data having the above-mentioned informationabout a broadcast program which is newly started are formed, and theformed viewing log data are stored and held in the viewing log memory35.

The updating of the use end time of the viewing log data and thecreation and storage of the viewing log data about a new broadcastprogram into the viewing log memory 35 are also executed when theselection is changed, via the program guide shown on the display 18 forexample. The change of selection includes both cases in which thechannels in analog ground-wave television broadcasting are switchedbetween and analog ground-wave television broadcasting is switched todigital satellite broadcasting. When the power to the televisionreceiving set 1 is turned off, the use end time of the viewing log datais also updated.

Next, on the basis of the selection control signal supplied from thecontroller 30, the UHF/VHF tuner 12 selectively receives a desiredbroadcast signal, demodulates the selected broadcast signal, andsupplies the resultant signal to the separator 13 on the followingstage. The separator 13 separates the supplied broadcast signal intovideo signal Vd1 and audio signal Au1 and supplies them to the selector14.

As described above, because the selector 14 is switched by thecontroller 30 so that the video signal Vd1 and audio signal Au1 suppliedfrom the separator 13 are outputted, the selector 14 supplies videosignal Vd1 supplied from the separator 13 to the video combiner 15 asvideo signal Vd subject to output.

The video combiner 15 combines a character image created by thecharacter creator 16 with video signal Vd supplied from the selector 14and supplies the video signal combined with the character image to thevideo signal processor 17, which will be detailed later.

From the supplied video signal, the video signal processor 17 forms avideo signal of detection to be supplied to the display 18. An image ofthe broadcast program provided by the selected broadcast signal isdisplayed on the display screen of the display 18.

On the other hand, the audio signal supplied from the separator 13 issupplied to the audio signal processor 19 in which the audio signal isamplified and adjusted in tone quality under the control of thecontroller 30, the resultant audio signal being supplied to the speaker20. Consequently, the sound of the broadcast program selected andprovided by the broadcast signal is outputted from the speaker 20.

If the last channel data read by the controller 30 upon powering on ofthe television receiving set 1 are indicative of the use of digitalsatellite broadcasting, then the controller 30 switches the selector 14so that the video and audio signals supplied from the audio/videodecoder 25 are outputted.

Next, in the case of digital satellite broadcasting, the video data andaudio data of a plurality of broadcast programs are transmitted in amultiplexed manner on one broadcasting channel as described above, sothat the controller 30 forms a station select control signal forselecting the broadcast signal transmitted by a desired broadcastingstation in accordance with the information stored in the last channelmemory and supplies the formed station select control signal to theBS/CS tuner 22. At the same time, in accordance with the identifier foridentifying the broadcast program of the last channel data, thecontroller 30 forms a selection control signal for selecting apredetermined broadcast program from among the broadcast programscurrently broadcast on the selected broadcasting channel and suppliesthe formed selection control signal to the demultiplexer 24.

At this moment, the controller 30 forms the information indicative ofthe broadcasting channel (the broadcasting station) selected by theBS/CS tuner 22, the information for identifying a broadcast programselected by the demultiplexer 24, and the viewing log informationcomposed of the program attribute and broadcasting date of thatbroadcast program and the use start time obtained from the clock circuit37 and stores and holds the these pieces of information in the viewinglog memory 35.

Subsequently, while the power is on, the controller 30 identifies fromthe program guide data the broadcast program currently provided by thebroadcast signal selected by the BS/CS tuner 22 at the current timeindicated by the clock circuit 37 and selected and extracted by thedemultiplexer 24 and determines whether the viewed broadcast program hasended.

If the viewed program is found ended in this decision process, then thetime at that moment is obtained from the 37, the use end time of thecorresponding viewing log data held in the viewing log memory 35 isupdated, and the viewing log data having the above-mentioned informationabout a broadcast program which is newly selected are formed to storedand held in the viewing log memory 35.

The updating of the use end time of the viewing log data and thecreation and storage of the viewing log data about a new broadcastprogram into the viewing log memory 35 are also executed when theselection is changed, via the program guide shown on the display 18 forexample. The change of selection includes both cases in which thechannels in analog ground-wave television broadcasting are switchedbetween and analog ground-wave television broadcasting is switched todigital satellite broadcasting. When the power to the televisionreceiving set 1 is turned off, the use end time of the viewing log datais also updated.

Next, on the basis of the station select control signal supplied fromthe controller 30, the BS/CS tuner 22 selectively receives a desiredbroadcast signal, demodulates the selected signal, and supplies theresultant signal to the descrambler 23 on the following stage. Thedescrambler 23 descrambles the supplied digital broadcast signal andsupplies the descrambled digital broadcast signal to the demultiplexer24.

The demultiplexer 24 extracts the video data and audio data of thebroadcast program selected from among a plurality of broadcast programsmultiplexed with the supplied digital broadcast signal. The video dataof the extracted video and audio data are supplied to the video decoderof the audio/video decoder 25 and the audio data re supplied to theaudio decoder of the audio/video decoder 25.

The video decoder of the audio/video decoder 25 decodes the suppliedvideo data to restore the original video data as they were beforedecoding and D/A-converts the decoded video data into analog videosignal Vd2. This analog video signal Vd2 is supplied to the selector 14,from which it is supplied to the video combiner 15 as video signal Vd tobe outputted. Subsequently, the video signal Vd is processed in the samemanner as with analog ground-wave television broadcast signals, therebydisplaying the video of the desired broadcast program onto the displayscreen of the display 18.

On the other hand, the audio decoder of the audio/video decoder 25decodes the supplied audio data to restore the original audio data asthey were before decoding and D/A-converts the decoded audio data intoanalog audio signal Au2. This analog audio signal Au2 is supplied to theselector 14, from which it is supplied to the audio signal processor 19as audio signal Au to be outputted. Subsequently, the audio signal Au isprocessed in the same manner as with analog ground-wave televisionbroadcast signals, the audio of the desired broadcast program beingsounded from the speaker 20.

Thus, when the power of the television receiving set 1 of the presentembodiment is turned on and one of analog ground-wave televisionbroadcasting or digital satellite broadcasting is selectively received,the television receiving set 1 of the present embodiment can correctlyunderstand in detail (1) which broadcasting channel has been selected,(2) when a selected broadcast program has been broadcast, (3) whichbroadcast program has been viewed, (4) how long a selected broadcastprogram has been viewed, (5) what is the attribute of the viewedbroadcast program, and other information on the basis of the viewing loginformation stored and held in the viewing log memory 35, as describedabove.

In the television receiving set of the present embodiment, characterimages can be uniquely formed and displayed on the television receivingset 1 on its own and the created images can be altered to the liking inviewing of the user of the television receiving set 1, as describedabove.

Hence, to controller 30 of the television receiving set 1 summarizes theviewing log information stored in the viewing log memory 35 to form aviewing log summary table as shown in FIG. 6. The viewing log summarytable shown in FIG. 6 lists the viewing times of viewed broadcastprograms by date and by program attribute.

This viewing log summary table allows the understanding of which programattributes (genres) of broadcast programs have been viewed for how long,namely, the user's liking in viewing for each of viewed broadcastprograms.

It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, the viewing logsummary table shown in FIG. 6 is summarized and updated at predeterminedtime intervals while the television receiving set 1 is powered on, forexample, every 10 minutes, every 30 minutes, every hour, every twohours, and so on.

Obviously, besides the above-mentioned method of summarization in whichbroadcast programs are viewable with the television receiving set 1powered on, it is also practicable to make summarization and updateseveral times a day, every two hours, every four hours, or every sixhours for example.

The viewing log summary table is formed in a storage area separate fromthe storage area in which the viewing log data in the viewing log memory35 are stored, for example. Obviously, the viewing log summary table maybe formed in a memory other than the viewing log memory.

[Forming of Character Images]

The following describes the forming of character images which uniquelycreated and displayed on the television receiving set 1 of the presentembodiment on its own as described above. In the television receivingset 1 of the present embodiment, the image data (character data) forforming character images are stored in the character data memory 36.

FIG. 7 illustrates the image data stored in the character data memory36. As shown in FIG. 7, the character data memory stores, in the form ofa table, the basic character image data for forming basic characterimages and the part image data for forming part images for alteringbasic character images.

Index codes are assigned to the basic character image data and each ofthe part image data. Separately holding the index codes of image data inuse allows the correct understanding of which image data are used forforming a particular character image and the quick reading of necessaryimage data for use.

In FIG. 7, the character image shown in the column of basic character isthe basic character image which is used in the television receiving set1 of the present embodiment and the basic character image data forforming this basic character image are stored in the character datamemory 36.

In FIG. 7, there is only one basic character image. However, it ispracticable to store a plurality of pieces of basic character image datato let the user choose any one of basic character images. In the presentembodiment, decimal 2-digit index codes, 00 through 99 for example, areassigned to the basic character image data.

Further, the character table also stores the part image data which areused to create a variety of part images for altering the basic characterimage in accordance with the liking in viewing of the user of thetelevision receiving set 1 for broadcast programs.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, the character table stores the part datafor creating part images for altering the basic character image to abaseball fan character, the part image data for creating part images foraltering the basic character image to a succor fan character, the partimage data for creating part images for altering the basic characterimage to a home chef character, and the part image data for creatingpart images for altering the basic character image to a studious boycharacter.

To be more specific, as shown in FIG. 7, the character data memory 36stores the part image data for creating a baseball cap, a bat, and aglove as part images for altering the basic character image to abaseball fun character, and the part image data for creating a succorball and a uniform as part images for altering the basic character imageto a succor fan character.

Also, the character data memory 36 stores the part image data forcreating a cook's hat, a pan, and a dipper as part images for alteringthe basic character image to a home chef character and the part imagedata for creating glasses, a book, and a scholar's cap as part imagesfor altering the basic image character to a studious body character.

Index codes are also assigned to these part image data and the indexdata to be assigned to each piece of the part image data are composed ofthe information corresponding to program attribute information and asequential number, for example.

For example, index code “010101” is assigned to the part image data forcreating a baseball cap for altering the basic character image to abaseball fun character and index code “010102” is assigned to the partimage data for creating a bat. The first four digits of each index codedenote the information corresponding to program attribute and thefollowing two digits denote the information indicative of the number ofthe part image in the part image data group.

Therefore, index code “010201” is assigned to the part image data forcreating a succor ball for altering the basic character image to asuccor fan character and index code “010202” is assigned to the partimage data for creating a succor uniform.

The above-mentioned arrangement allows, if the viewing time of abaseball live program has increased over a predetermined period of time,to alter an already created character image to a baseball fun characterby reading the part image data having 4-digit information correspondingto the program attribute of that baseball live program and combining thepart image created by these part image data with the already createdcharacter image, which will also be described later.

In addition to the basic character image data, the part image datacorresponding to the summary result of the viewing log summary tableshown in FIG. 6 are supplied to the character creator 16 to create acharacter image obtained by combining the basic character image with thepart image and the resultant character image is supplied to the videocombiner 15.

Consequently, the video signal of the broadcast program from theselector 14 is combined with the character image from the charactercreator 16 in the video combiner 15 and the combined video signal issupplied to the display 18 through the video signal processor 17,thereby displaying the video of the broadcast program and the characterimage uniquely created in the television receiving set 1 in accordancewith the user's liking in viewing for broadcast programs.

It should be noted that, as described above, the index code of the imagedata in use is stored and held as used image data information in an areaseparate from the storage area of the image data in the character datamemory 36 or in another non-volatile memory, thereby preventing the samepart image from use in a duplicate manner.

[Creating and Displaying of Character Images]

The following describes the processing of creating and displayingcharacter images in the television receiving set 1 of the presentembodiment configured as described above with reference to the flowchartshown in FIG. 8.

The processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8 is executed in thecontroller 30 of the television receiving set 1 immediately after thetelevision receiving set 1 is powered on and at predetermined timeintervals (for example, every 30 minutes, every hour, or every twohours) thereafter for example.

The controller 30 of the television receiving set 1 executes theprocessing shown in FIG. 8 in the above-mentioned timed relation; first,the controller 30 references the used image data information stored in apredetermined storage area such as the character dada memory 36 todetermine whether a character image has already been created (stepS101).

If, in the decision process of step S101, no character image is foundcreated, then the controller 30 reads the basic character image datafrom the character data memory 36 and supplies these data to thecharacter creator 16 to create the basic character image (step S102).

The process of step S102 includes a process of recording the index codeassigned to the basic character image data to a predetermined storagearea such as the character data memory 36 as used image datainformation. After the process of step S102, the basic character imageformed in the character creator 16 is supplied to the video combiner 15to combine the video signal supplied from the selector 14 with thisbasic character image (step S103), upon which the processing shown inFIG. 8 comes to an end.

If, in the decision process of step S101, a character image is foundalready created, then the controller 30 references the viewing logsummary table shown in FIG. 6 (step S104) to compare the last viewinglog with the current viewing log (step S105).

Next, on the basis of a comparison result obtained in step S105, thecontroller 30 determines whether there is any program genre (programattribute) that has increased in viewing time (step S106). If a programgenre increased in viewing time is found in the decision process of stepS106, then the controller 30 determines whether the viewing time of thatgenre has increased more than a certain period of time (step S107).

The process of step S107 is executed to ignore those broadcast programswhich are unintendedly viewed by the use at the time of switchingchannels for example, thereby ensuring accuracy in character change bypreventing user's liking in viewing from being obtained from thoseunintendedly viewed broadcast programs.

If, in the decision process of step S107, the viewing time of theprogram genre increased in viewing time is found increasing more than apredetermined period of time, then the part image data corresponding tothe program genre increased in viewing time more than a predeterminedperiod of time, these part image data having not yet used, are obtainedfrom the character table configured as described with reference to FIG.7 (step S108).

In the process of step S108, whether the part image data have not yetbeen used may be determined from the used image data information storedand held in the character data memory 36 for example.

In step S108, the newly obtained part image data are also supplied tothe character creator 16 which is controlled so that the character imageadapted to be currently displayed is combined with the part imagecreated from the newly obtained part image data, thereby altering thecurrent character image to the desired one (step S109).

The character image altered in the character creator 16 in the processof step S109 is supplied to the video combiner 15 to be combined withthe video of the broadcast program (step S110), upon which theprocessing shown in FIG. 8 comes to an end.

If there is found no program genre increased in viewing time in thedecision process of step S106 and, if the viewing time of the programgenre increased in viewing time is found not increasing more than apredetermined period of time in the decision process of step S107, itindicates that there is no need for altering the character image, sothat the processing shown in FIG. 8 comes to an end without altering thecurrent character image.

Thus, the television receiving set 1 is adapted to uniquely create anddisplay character images on its own and alter created character imagesin accordance with the liking in viewing of the user of televisionreceiving set 1 for broadcast programs. Namely, the television receivingset 1 can display not only the video corresponding to externallysupplied information but also character images uniquely created by thetelevision receiving set 1 on its own.

[Specific Example of Altering of Character Images]

The following describes, with reference to FIG. 9A, 9B and 9C, specificexamples of the processing for creating and displaying character imagesin the television receiving set 1 described with reference to FIG. 8.The following description uses an example in which a viewing log summarytable is created as shown in FIG. 6 and a character table as shown inFIG. 7 is held in the character data memory 36.

In the following description, it is assumed that the use of thetelevision receiving set 1 started on September 1 (9/1) and the viewingtime to be summarized for each program attribute (program genre) iscounted when it is more than two hours in order to reflect user's likingin viewing for broadcast programs.

In the television receiving set 1 of which use started, the basiccharacter image is shown as shown in character image (A) in FIG. 9A onSeptember 1 which is the day on which the use started. Then, because abaseball live coverage program was viewed for two and a half hours forexample as shown in FIG. 6, part image data are used to create abaseball cap part image to alter the basic character image to a baseballfan character, thereby creating and displaying a character image with abaseball cap combined.

Next day, September 2, a baseball live coverage program was viewed fortwo hours and a cooking program was viewed for two hours as shown inFIG. 6, so that the viewing periods of time of these program both exceeda predetermined period of time (two hours in this example).Consequently, as shown in FIG. 9B, character image (B) adapted to bedisplayed up to September 1 is added with a baseball bat part image onSeptember 2 as shown in character image (C) and then is added with acook's hat as shown in character image (D) and the resultant image isdisplayed.

Then, the next day, September 3, a quiz program was viewed for two hoursand a news program for 30 minutes as shown in FIG. 6; of these programs,the viewing time of the quiz program exceeded a predetermined period oftime (two hours in this example), so that character image (D) adapted tobe displayed until September 2 is altered to character image (E) withglasses added which is shown on September 3 as shown in FIG. 9C.

Thus, in the television receiving set 1 of the present embodiment,character images uniquely created and displayed by the televisionreceiving set 1 are adapted to be automatically altered in accordancewith the liking in viewing of the user of the television receiving set1.

Consequently, the above-mentioned novel configuration makes the user ofthe television receiving set 1 become more friendly with the televisionreceiving set 1 and provides images which the user enjoys besidesbroadcast programs, thereby realizing a television receiving set whichis high in user friendliness and entertainment. In addition, theabove-mentioned novel configuration character images allow the user ofthe television receiving set 1 to understand what genres of programs heviews often and his own liking in viewing, thereby enhancing theconvenience in viewing broadcast programs.

[Other Examples]

In the above-mentioned embodiment, an example in which character imagesare altered is used. However, the present invention is not restricted tothe above-mentioned example. For example, in accordance with the user ofthe television receiving set 1, the colors of character images may bechanged or both the forms of and colors of character images may bechanged to attain the above-mentioned effects.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, viewing log data of each viewedbroadcast programs are accumulated and the accumulated viewing log dataare summarized for each of program attributes to form a viewing logsummary table as shown in FIG. 6. However, the present invention is notrestricted to the above-mentioned example. For example, viewing log datamay be summarized into a viewing log summary table shown in FIG. 6 fromthe beginning without accumulating the viewing log data for each ofviewed broadcast programs.

The image data for creating character images are not restricted to thoseshown in FIG. 7; various other image data may be prepared. In addition,same part image data may be shared between a plurality of genres, quizprograms and education programs, for example.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the image forming apparatus and theimage forming method are applied to the television receiving set 1. Itwill be apparent that the present invention may also be applied tovarious other receiving apparatuses for receiving analog ground-wavetelevision broadcast, digital satellite broadcast, and cable televisionbroadcast.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the image data for creating characterimages are stored in advance in the character data memory 36; however,the present invention is not restricted to this configuration. Forexample, the image data for creating character images may be downloadedfrom a server on the Internet in an appropriate timed relation to makethe downloaded data ready for creating new character images. This setupprevents character images from getting boring and banal for users.

As described above, the television receiving set 1 incorporates themodem 40 for connecting it to the Internet to download necessaryinformation such as program guide data and image data from the server 3;however, the present invention is not restricted to this configuration.

For example, the necessary data may also be distributed by use ofvarious broadcasting waves as shown in FIG. 10. If analog ground-wavetelevision broadcasting is used for example, the program guide data andthe image data for forming character images may be superimposed on afree area in the vertical blanking interval (VBL) of each televisionbroadcast signal, the resultant television broadcast signal beingbroadcast. The television receiver side extracts the necessary data suchas the program guide data from the received television broadcast signaland supplies the extracted data to the controller 30 to store the datainto a predetermined memory.

In the case of digital ground-wave broadcasting or digital videobroadcasting, the program guide data and the image data for formingcharacter images may be packetized to be multiplexed with the video dataand audio data of each broadcast program for broadcasting. The programguide data and the image data for forming character images are extractedby the demultiplexer 24 shown in FIG. 3 and the extracted data aresupplied to the controller 30 to be stored in a predetermined memory.

As described above, the program guide data, the image data for formingcharacter images, program attribute data, and other various data may beobtained via communication networks such as the Internet or obtainedfrom the distribution through broadcast media. Also, these data may beobtained from both the communication network and the broadcast media.

Obviously, if the character data memory 36 is configured as a detachableexternal semiconductor memory (a removable memory) and new characterimages are used, a new character data memory in which image data forforming new character images are stored may be obtained by purchasingfor example to replace the old character data memory.

The configuration of the image data (character data) for formingcharacter images is not restricted to that mentioned above. For example,it is also practicable to manage the image data for forming the basiccharacter images and each piece of part data as separate files and usevarious types of index codes for distinguishing desired image data toextract them.

The timings in which program guide data are obtained, character imagesare formed and displayed, and character images are altered are notrestricted to those used in the above-mentioned embodiment. For example,these timings may be set by the user or otherwise.

The modes of displaying character images are not restricted to thoseshown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. For example, character images may be displayedas superimposed on the video of each broadcast program or otherwise.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the television receiving set 1incorporates the modem 40. Another configuration is also practicable.For example, the modem 40 may be externally connected. Namely, thetelevision receiving set 1 may only have a connection terminal forproviding connection with communication equipment such as a modem.

In terms of communication, rather than simply using a modem, it is alsopracticable to connect the television receiving set 1 to a desiredcommunication network such as the Internet through various equipment(modules) for implementing such communication capabilities arrangedinside or outside television receiving sets or receivers ascommunication connection equipment for providing connection with an ADSL(Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) modem or an optical fiber networkand equipment for providing connection with the Internet via a cabletelevision network, thereby obtaining various data such as program guidedata.

Further, it is also practicable to automatically distribute, in apredetermined timed relation, various data such as program guide data tothe receiving equipment such as registered user's television receivingset or receiver via various communication networks.

As described above and according to the invention, character images canbe formed and displayed in accordance with user's liking in viewing forbroadcast programs. Because character images can be altered inaccordance with user's liking in viewing for broadcast programs,user-friendliness and entertainment are enhanced and, because user'sliking in viewing for broadcast programs can be notified, theconvenience in viewing broadcast programs is enhanced.

1. An image forming apparatus comprising: obtaining means for obtainingprogram guide data including at least attribute information of eachbroadcast program; use log forming means for forming, by identifyingeach broadcast program adapted to be viewed, use log information forsaid identified each broadcast program; character image forming meansfor forming a character image to be displayed by use of image data forforming a character image; viewing log summary table forming means forforming a viewing log summary table obtained by relating said use loginformation formed at least by said use log forming means to saidattribute information included in said program guide data obtained bysaid obtaining means; and character image altering means for alteringsaid character image formed in advance, on the basis of said viewing logsummary table.
 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,wherein said obtaining means connects a communication line with a serverarranged on a communication network and obtains said program guide datafrom said server.
 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,wherein said obtaining means obtains said program guide data which aremultiplexed with a received broadcast signal.
 4. The image formingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein said viewing log summary tableis updated in a predetermined time interval and said character imagealtering means alters said character image formed in advance, inaccordance with the update of said viewing log summary table.
 5. Theimage forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: imagedata obtaining means for obtaining image data from a server holdingimage data for forming various character images arranged on acommunication network by connecting a communication line with saidserver.
 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, whereinsaid broadcast signal is multiplexed with image data for forming acharacter image as required; said image forming apparatus furthercomprising: image data extracting means for extracting said image datafrom said broadcast signal to make the extracted image data usable. 7.An image forming method comprising the steps of: obtaining program guidedata including at least attribute information of each broadcast program;forming, by identifying each broadcast program adapted to be viewed, uselog information for said identified each broadcast program; forming acharacter image to be displayed by use of image data for forming acharacter image; forming a viewing log summary table obtained byrelating said use log information formed at least in said use logforming step to said attribute information included in said programguide data obtained in said obtaining step; and altering said characterimage formed in advance, on the basis of said viewing log summary table.8. The image forming method according to claim 7, wherein, in saidobtaining step, a communication line is connected with a server arrangedon a communication network and said program guide data are obtained fromsaid server.
 9. The image forming method according to claim 7, wherein,in said obtaining step, said program guide data are obtained byextracting said program guide data which are multiplexed with a receivedbroadcast signal.
 10. The image forming method according to claim 7,wherein said viewing log summary table is updated in a predeterminedtime interval and, in said character image altering step, said characterimage formed in advance is altered in accordance with the update of saidviewing log summary table.
 11. The image forming method according toclaim 7, further comprising the step of: obtaining image data from aserver holding image data for forming various character images arrangedon a communication network by connecting a communication line with saidserver.
 12. The image forming method according to claim 7, wherein saidbroadcast signal is multiplexed with image data for forming a characterimage as required; said image forming method further comprising the stepof: extracting said image data from said broadcast signal to make theextracted image data usable.